Love Never Sinks
by DarlingSecret
Summary: The summer Tadashi went to robotics camp was the summer his parents and four year old brother went on a cruise. The boat sank, and his family was assumed dead. Ten years later, a lone boy is found on a deserted island. Tadashi wants so much to reconnect with his brother, but Hiro remembers so little, and he's afraid. What hardships await the brothers?
1. A Very Scary Day

**Disclaimer: Big Hero 6 is not mine.**

 _ **Summary:** The summer Tadashi Hamada went to robotics camp, his parents and his four year old brother, Hiro, go on a cruise. But the ship sinks, and his family is assumed dead. That is until, a young boy is found on a deserted island. Can Tadashi be the big brother he assumed he didn't have to be anymore? And what about Hiro? A young boy, torn from the only life he remembers. Is it possible for him to adjust to this new life? Being a big brother is hard, especially when it's just a regular kid. But Hiro isn't normal. He's a wild boy who grew up on an island, and who may or may not be a genius._

 _I got this idea from...you know, I don't really remember where. I got if from somewhere, I know that, but I can't recall what sparked the idea. Hope you like the story!_

 **Chapter 1**

The boy was walking around, checking for traps. He'd set up four of them before he slept, and by now, he expected to have caught something. He hoped, anyway. Food on the island wasn't scarce, but it was hard to catch. Even the fruit and edible plants were hard to find, though it got easier if you knew where to look.

His companion, a Siberian Husky, (not that he knew the name of the dog's breed) was walking along side him, sniffing the ground. The dog was old, having just been a puppy when they arrived on the island. The dog was ten years old now, but it was in good shape, and no one would even have guessed it was about seventy in human years. But it's age did show a little, evidenced by the lanky boy walking a bit slower, so the dog didn't have to force itself to go faster to keep up.

The boy himself was in great shape too, if not very big. Sure, he was skinny, after growing up on a deserted island, but he was fast, and strong. His black hair was wild, sticking up all over the place, and his eyes were lite with a brilliance that was wasted here on the island. But it was all he remembered, (save for a few fuzzy images) and for the most part, he was content.

The sound of something flying overhead interrupted his routine, but he didn't look up. It was normal for planes to go by, and boats too, but they never stopped here, and they never saw him. Now that he remembered. Planes. That was the name of those big flying things that passed by. And boats were the things that floated on water.

But this plane sounded like it was very close. Almost like it was landing. His companion seemed to think so too, for the dog stopped sniffing around for food, and looked the way the plane had gone, barking once. He put a hand on the dog's head, and when the dog looked up at him, he put a finger to his lips, signaling silence. Together, the two island dwellers crept forward, moving silently across the landscape. They passed their home, a small cave that had been dug into the side of the hill a long time ago. He didn't remember who dug it. All he remembered were countless nights spent curled up in it, with only his furry friend for warmth. He thought about crawling into it, and hiding until whatever it was that had come was gone.

But there was another part of him that was curious. After being alone for so long, he needed to see what had come to his home.

In front of them, a plane came into sight. It was making contact with the ground, wobbling like he did that time he ate the berries that were bad for him. He'd stayed in his den for almost three days, waking only when his friend poked his nose in, sniffing the boy worriedly. The plane glided across the ground for a while longer, then finally came to a rest, kicking up the dust and dirt under it.

Someone got off the planes. It was someone like him, something he hadn't seen in a very long time. Something that walked on two legs, and stood up straight.

The boy and his dog ducked in unison, hiding themselves. The dog was growling low in it's throat, and the boy put his hand back on it's head, but this time for comfort. He watched through the thicket, as someone else got out of the plane. What were they doing here? What did they want? His heart was pounding faster then that time he and his friend had had to outrun that blazing fire, which had been started by a flash in the sky tearing down on them.

The people were standing together, talking to each other. The sound of their voices drifted across the air, and reached the boy. He froze, listening hard. It had been a long time since he'd heard anyone speaking, including himself. He and his friend didn't need words to communicate. He only spoke to him if they were separated, and was calling his friend's name.

Some of the words they were speaking...he seemed to know. Every now and again, one of them would say something that he understood. They laughed, and he paused. He knew that sound, for sure. It meant they were happy. He laughed whenever his friend rolled in the mud, then the two of the them wrestled, getting the boy dirty too. Not that he minded. He enjoyed having a reason to go to the spring, which was always warm during this time of year. The colder times he spent dirty, because it was a bad idea to get into water when the air was so chilly.

He looked up at the people again, and his movement caught one of their eyes. The taller of the two looked up, and looked the boy's way. The eyes of the stranger widened.

"Hey!"The man pointed directly at him, and his friend growled. The boy knew he was spotted, and he took off running, with his friend at his heels. They tore through the trees at breakneck speeds, until they came to their den. The young boy crawled in quickly, clicking his tongue to make sure his friend would follow him in. He needn't have worried, the dog was on his heels, and they curled up together in the small space, with the dog wrapping himself around the boy protectively.

The boy breathed quietly, listening. They were approaching. They were speaking to each other.

"I swear, it was a kid!" one voice said. This voice sounded young, though older than Hiro. Not that he really knew what other humans sounded like. But he had a feeling this one was younger.

"Are you sure, sir? Might it just have been your imagination?" This one was older, for sure.

"No way, Heathcliff. It was a kid. A boy. He had black hair, and- oh!"

The voices came to a stop. They had come upon the boy's home. Instantly, he knew what they were seeing. The supplies for his traps, which he'd been working on this morning. None of his food was out there, because he wasn't dumb enough to leave it where the island animals could get to it so easily. But he'd left his supplies out, because usually the animals ignored them. He growled softly to himself, and his friend echoed him.

"Oh my. Someone seems to be living here." the older voice said. "There are clothes on the ground."

The boy had exactly two sets of clothing. He'd made them himself, out of material he'd found on the island. It had been difficult, but it was best to be wearing something when one slept on the dirt. Bugs were notorious for crawling all over him. Though perhaps leaving them on the ground kind of defeated the purpose.

"I told you. There's a boy here."

The boy held his breath as footsteps began crunching around, searching methodically. His friend was growling consistently. They were going to be found, he just knew it. He felt on the ground around him, hoping to find one of his spears. But they too, were outside, as he'd planned to go fishing after returning from his traps. He retreated further into the den, as far as he could go, his heart pounding.

"Hey, there's a hole here. Like a den! Cool!" the younger voice said, and the boy hoped he'd pass it by, afraid to look in.

But the older voice was smarter than then the younger voice, who had started to move away.

"Shouldn't we look in, sir?"

"Oh. Good idea, Heathcliff."

The boy knew he was cornered. He growled louder now, hoping to scare away the intruders, and his friend joined him. But the voice looked in, and the boy came face to face with the first human he had seen in ten years. It was a boy, older than him, with long blond hair.

"Woah." he breathed. "There's a kid in here, Heathcliff."

Another face looked in. A much older gentleman.

"So there is, Master Fred."

The boy, (Master Fred?) smiled at him, and spoke in a friendly manner.

"Hey, there. I'm Fred. This is Heathcliff. Would you like to come with us?"

* * *

 _There, done, got to go, I have work. Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed._


	2. A Very Hectic Day

**Sorry about the rush at the end of the first chapter. I had wanted to make it longer, but time flew by, and I didn't realize I was about to be late for work, so I had to end it there. I could have just gone to work, and worked on it when I came back, but I hate leaving things unfinished once my mind is set. Hey, if it makes you feel better, originally, that whole beginning part was only going to be a few paragraphs! But things never turn out the way I planned for them to, so you got that instead.**

 **Thank you to those of you who left a review, or favorited, or just plain read it.**

 **Chapter 2**

Tadashi had a bit of a hectic morning. He woke up late, because he was exhausted from staying up really late to work on Baymax, and then on his way to school, he saw a turtle in the middle of the road, slowly making it's way to the other side. There wasn't much traffic here, because he was taking the less known shortcut, but he was still nervous at the image of the poor thing getting crushed, so he pulled over, and booked it over to the turtle, depositing him safely on the other side of the street.

"Be careful, little guy." he said, as he fixed his helmet firmly on his head, and started his journey up again. Ultimately, he was late to class, coming in just late enough that everyone turned to look at him as he came in. He gave his professor, Mr. Callaghan, an apologetic look. The older gentleman didn't break stride, and just continued teaching. Tadashi slumped down in his second row seat with a sigh. He tried to pay attention, but he was so tired. Sleeping in class really wasn't Tadashi's thing, it was something he hated doing, but he had no control as his eyelids slid shut.

 _"Have fun at summer camp, Tadashi." his mother said fondly, when they were mere minutes away from said camp._

 _"Don't forget to write." his father added. Tadashi smiled at them, as he bounced excitedly up and down in the car. A whole summer at robotics camp! This was going to be great! He'd learn so much._

 _In the seat next to him, his four year old brother Hiro, was pouting quietly. Tadashi hadn't paid much attention up until that point, too wrapped up in his own excitement._

 _"Hiro, what's wrong?" he asked, with a gentle smile. His small brother huffed, and looked out the window stubbornly. Tadashi cocked his head. Was his brother mad at him? What for? The two of them got a long pretty well, for kids with such a big age gap between them. In fact, he really loved his brother._

 _"Come on, you can tell me." he said, scooting closer. Hiro looked at him out of the corner of his eye, and then his stubborn look broke, and was replaced with one of dejection._

 _"I don't wanna go on a boat." Hiro said. It always amazed Tadashi how smart Hiro was. Most four year olds didn't put sentences together in such a complex way, and didn't spend so much time thinking about what they said, like Tadashi knew Hiro did. "Wanna go with you."_

 _Tadashi's heart melted in his chest, and pulled his little brother into his lap, resting his chin on Hiro's head. "When you're older, you will. Till then, you're stuck on a boat."_

 _Hiro huffed again, crossing his little arms over his chest. Tadashi used his hands to gently pry the arms apart, making Hiro squeal prematurely, already knowing what was coming. In seconds, Tadashi's hands were flying across Hiro's chest, tickling his little brother until the younger Hamada was out of breath. Once he finally gave in to the little tyke's pleas for mercy, he hugged him tightly._

 _"Don't worry Hiro. It's only for a little while. It's not like we'll never see each other again."_

 _Hiro looked up at him with big, wobbling eyes that looked like they were about to start dripping tears._

 _"Pwomise?" he asked. Smart as he was, even Hiro sometimes had trouble with his r's._

 _"Pwomise." Tadashi said back. Hiro scowled, and it was very impressive for a child his age, and he hit Tadashi lightly on the chest._

 _"Tadashi's making fun of me!" he shouted to his parents, who simple smiled at each other, and continued driving. When they got to the camp, the goodbye's were hard. Hiro clung to him, and caused a scene, and had to pried off by his father. Tadashi waved them off, thinking about how hard it had been to say goodbye to Hiro._

 _It would have been even harder, if he'd known it was more than just a temporary goodbye._

"Mr. Hamada."

Tadashi sat up slowly in his seat, coming face to face with Professor Callaghan. His face went red. He'd been caught sleeping.

"I'm-I'm sorry Professor Callaghan, I was just-"

Professor Callaghan smiled understandingly. "It's alright Tadashi. Since this is your first offense, and you're only exhausted from so much school work, I'll let it slide. But maybe you should take this." The older man held out a tissue, confusing Tadashi. Had he drooled on the desk or something? He looked down, but there was no sign that he'd desecrated the desk with any body fluids.

He checked his arms, thinking maybe it had gotten on his sleeves, since he had slept with his arms crossed. And there, he spotted a few small, wet dots. But that couldn't be drool. And Professor Callaghan couldn't have seen it.

That's when another drop suddenly hit his sleeve, and he touched his face in shock. Oh. He was crying. Remembering his parents always hurt, but it had gotten easier as time went on. This wasn't so much the case with his little brother, Hiro. They'd been so close, and Tadashi had _promised_ it wasn't goodbye...

Hiro had been so little. And so smart. He would have done great things for the world, Tadashi just knew it. The eighteen year old wiped the tears off his face, and stuck the tissue in his pocket.

 _BH6_

After classes ended, he went to his lab, as always, planning to work on Baymax for the following six hours, until he finally returned home, exhausted and hungry.

"Hey, sleeping beauty." GoGo said the instant he walked in. She had that class with Tadashi, and he hadn't expected her to let it go without a few jokes.

"Hey, GoGo." he said back.

"Tadashi!" Honey Lemon shouted, sounding so excited, as if they didn't see each other every day.

"Honey Lemon."

His response lacked it's usual enthusiasm, and she noticed.

"Are you alright?" she asked, coming over with a concerned look on her face. He nodded, not wanting to talk about his dream. His friends knew about his family, heck that summer camp was where he'd met Wasabi, who was studying all kinds of different sciences back then, to see which one he wanted to get in to. They knew, and he knew they'd try to make him feel better. And they'd probably succeed. But he just didn't feel like talking about.

"Just tired."

She didn't look like she believed him, but she didn't push him. Wasabi came in a few minutes later, and after a few minutes of good natured teasing and chatting, he said, "Hey, has anybody seen Fred?" Fred was usually the first one here, but today, the lab lacked his usual chirpiness.

"Oh, he said he and Heathcliff were taking the family plane out this morning."

"Why?" Tadashi asked, as he gathered some of the stuff he'd need for when he left to work in private.

"He just wanted a vacation." GoGo said, and nobody disagreed with her, though she hadn't meant it in a bad way. That's just the way Fred was.

"I think he said he wanted to take us somewhere our next break." Honey Lemon offered. "He had to check to see if it was actually in distance of the plane, though."

"Yeah, that would suck." Wasabi said as he adjusted his googles. "Heading out for vacation, only to crash and sink at s-" He cut himself off very quickly, but at this point it was too late. GoGo was giving him a, "You're such an idiot," glare, and Honey Lemon was looking at Tadashi with concern.

"Guys, it's alright." he said, smiling to show them. "It was a long time ago." They looked at him silently for a minute, and it seemed like they'd take his word. But then GoGo spoke up again.

"You know, Tadashi, the reason the Professor woke you..." she trailed off like she wasn't sure if she should continue with what she was saying. He looked at her curiously. Hadn't he been woken because it was against the rules to sleep?

"We...well...some of us, not the whole class, just the first couple rows...we could hear you...crying."

Tadashi's face burnt red. He wasn't so much embarrassed by the fact that he'd been seen, or heard, crying, it was just that know his friends would know he was lying about being okay.

"Tadashi, I'm sorry." Wasabi said apologetically. Tadashi put a hand on his shoulder.

"It's alright. It's not your fault I was said."

"What did you dream about?" Honey Lemon asked softly. The gang had mostly stopped working, and was looking at him now. He sighed. Better to get it out in the open.

"Just...the last time I saw Hiro. I...I'd promised him it wasn't goodbye." His words came out a little choked, and Honey Lemon was affected. So was Wasabi. Both of them sniffled tears out of their eyes. GoGo didn't cry, but she looked at the ground, a sad look in her eyes. He still vividly remembered the day he'd been told. He remembered the weeks after, where Aunt Cass tried to be hopeful, saying it wasn't too late, they might still be alive. He remembered the deflation, when they were told that his family, at this point, had to be assumed dead.

His parents? Dead?

His brother?

"Look, it's really alright. You don't have to worry about. It's just sometimes, it's impossible not to remember Hi-"

His phone started to chime in his pocked. Tadashi held up a finger to excuse himself, and looked at the caller I.D, answering with a cheery, "Aunt Cass, what's up?" He'd gone to live with his Aunt Cass after his family had died. She was a really great person, and he thought of her like a second mother. She tried so hard to help him through the tough time that followed after the deaths. And she'd mostly succeeded too. He wouldn't trade her for anything in the world.

"Tadashi..." she said, and he couldn't place how she sounded. Happy? Cautious? Disbelieving?

"Yeah?"

"They...they found him, Tadashi."

Tadashi furrowed his brow, confused. Had Mochi gone missing since he left this morning? If so, it was good that he'd been found, but hardly worth a call, since Tadashi hadn't even known he was missing.

"Who, Aunt Cass? Who found who?"

"Your friend, Fred. He...he found..."

Fred? Fred had found Mochi?

Aunt Cass sounded like she might be starting to cry as she spoke again. His heart froze in his chest, and the noises of machinery around him was drowned out by the sound of blood pounding in his head. Which should have been impossible. Blood couldn't flow if the heart didn't beat, and he was sure that his heart had stopped.

"They found Hiro, Tadashi."

* * *

 _Well, I guess this will be one of those stories were the point switches between the two characters. I'd originally intended for Tadashi to be the main character, and tell the story from his point of view alone. But it might be interesting to see these happenings from Hiro's point of view too, so I'll trade back and forth, though probably not in order._

 _If you have an ideas you'd like to throw my way, in hopes that I'll wind them into the tale, just send me a message, or let me know in a review._

 _Well, I have to go now, I need to sleep._

 _I have work in the morning._

 _Stupid work._


	3. The End Of A Scary, and Hectic Day

**Wow, sixteen reviews in only two chapters? That's a big deal, for me. Thank you kindly, nice strangers. Your compliments are making me blush!**

 **How many of you have gone to see Jurassic World yet? Pretty cool, right? The raptors were amazing. And I was crying when *spoiler alerts for the whole movie***

 **Anyway, for some reason the movie made me think of this story.**

 **Chapter 3**

It was the weirdest thing. It was like the boy could understand them. Vaguely. He didn't know every word that came out of their mouths, so it was very confusing, but somethings he understood. It was strange. As far back as he could remember, (except for many the slightest, _slightest_ bit) it was him and his friend, alone on the island, so how he could follow some of their conversation? The boy himself only knew a limited amount of words, and he didn't even remember where he learned them.

"Hey, again!" said a voice. Hiro and his friend were alone in a huge room at the minute. They'd been there for hours. After taking them from the island, the boy, who had just come in now, had taken them to a colossal sized building, and told him that his family's personal, "doctor" was on the way to examine him, then he'd spent the day going back and forth between talking to the boy, and leaving the room.

Hiro had no idea what a doctor was, so at first he didn't like the sound of it. He'd hid under the bed, joined quickly by his friend. But the man who came in looked just as normal as the others. Except he was wearing a long white cloth. Is that what made him a doctor?

"Where is the boy?" the doctor asked, but all the boy made out was the word, "boy" itself, though he could guess the rest.

"He's hiding under the bed." answered the boy who found him, and this time, he understood both, "hiding," and, "Bed."

A face peeked in at him, that of a kindly looking older gentleman, and at the same time, both the boy and his friend erupted in threatening growls. The man in the white coat didn't look at all threatened, and instead, he smiled.

"Yes, you're very scary." he said to the wild boy, who, understanding that he wasn't being taken seriously, shut up quickly. All things on the island had feared him, or at least respected him. But this human wasn't afraid. Did that mean he was stronger than the boy? If so, the boy didn't want to anger him.

"Come on out." the doctor said, waving a hand. The boy understood what he wanted, but he wasn't sure if he wanted to listen. He was barely comfortable around the long haired boy that the older man called Master Fred.

"It'll only take a couple minutes, I promise. I'll be gone within minutes."

Those were too many words for the boy to fully understand, but he came out from under the bed nonetheless, his friend following slowly behind him. After only a few short minutes, the man in the white coat gave him, "a clean bill of health," whatever that meant, and left. Then it was just the boy and Master Fred again.

"Hey, guess what?" Master Fred asked him excitedly. The boy, understanding that he'd been asked a question, tilted his head. Master Fred seemed like a harmless guy, and that was some of the reason the boy had gone with him, even though leaving the only home he remembered was frightening, to say the least. The other reason was that the boy was sure that there was something out here for him to find, something for him to see, though he couldn't remember what. And the final reason was because he didn't think they would have just left him there, on his own, not after finding him.

"It turns out one of my best friends is your brother. He'll be here in just a couple minutes."

The boy bit his lip, and furrowed his brow. Someone was coming? A...brother? What was a brother? The word tickled something in him, but he couldn't connect the feeling to a meaning.

After a bit, he was back under the bed, growling threatening at everything that came in, even Master Fred. There were too many people in the room. So many of them had showed up at once, and the moment they came in, he ran under the bed.

"How long has he been under there?" a voice asked. It was the voice of a girl with short, dark, hair.

"Just since you guys showed up." Master Fred said.

"Poor thing." said the one they called Honey Lemon. Her voice was soft and full of worry, but he didn't come out from under the bed, not even for her.

"When is Tadashi getting here?" the tall, dark man asked. The boy had only managed to follow half the conversation, but at this, he stopped growling, and tensed up. Tadashi?

"He said he has to go meet up with his aunt first, and then they're coming straight here."

His friend was curled around him, and the boy buried his face into the fur, wishing he had never left the island.

*(*)

Tadashi's heart was pounding the entire ride over to Fred's house. Aunt Cass wasn't any less nervous, he could tell. She was usually pretty talkative, but the whole ride, she was dead silent. He couldn't believe this was happening. Just a few hours ago, Hiro had been gone, lost forever. But now...he was alive?

When they pulled up to Fred's mansion, neither of them got out right away. He grabbed his aunt's hand, and squeezed it. She looked at him, with tears in her eyes. "Tadashi..." she whispered, and he smiled.

"It'll be okay, Aunt Cass."

She sniffled. "I know. I'm just...so happy."

Fred greeted them at the door, unusually calm. Even he knew when a situation called for more tact.

"He's in my bedroom right now, probably still hiding under the bed."

"Under the bed?" Tadashi repeated, worried. During the time Hiro and he had been together as a family, the little boy had seemed so energetic, and friendly. And now, he was hiding under beds? Tadashi felt the old pain resurfacing, even though he should have just been happy that Hiro was alive.

"Yeah. When he gets scared, he kind of crawls under the bed with his dog."

"Dog?" Aunt Cass repeated Fred this time.

"Oh, did I forget to mention? He had a gigantic dog with him. It was on the island with him, and I was pretty sure he wasn't planning to come with if I didn't bring it along."

Aunt Cass was clearly a little troubled by this. "Well...so long as it gets along with Mochi, everything should be fine..." Tadashi smiled. Mochi was lazy and friendly, and not hard to get along with, so they just had to hope the dog didn't hunt fat cats.

They reached the bedroom then, where the rest of his friends were waiting outside the door. Honey Lemon hugged Tadashi tightly. Tadashi's heart was still hammering in his chest, and Honey seemed to feel it.

"Don't worry, Tadashi." she said to him. "You'll make a great brother."

Fred led the two of them in, and instantly, his eyes went over to the bed. There was nobody on it, but he could vaguely make out shapes under it. He approached it slowly, waiting for any sound from his brother. But there was nothing, and when he slowly peered under, Aunt Cass lingering behind him, he saw a boy, skinny, and wild haired, and scars along his whole body, sleeping soundly.

"He's asleep." Tadashi whispered, and he was relived and disappointed at the same time. Suddenly, something behind Hiro began to growl, and Tadashi's eyes went to a big dog that was curled up behind him.

"I...see what you mean about the big dog." he said quietly. The dog looked to be a Siberian Husky. Tadashi assumed it must have been on the cruise ship with Hiro, putting the dog at close to ten years of age, depending on how old it had been when he landed on the island.

"Hi there, doggy." he said softly. "I'm not going to hurt him. I promise."

The dog only growled louder, prompting Hiro into opening his eyes. Both brothers gasped at the same time, and Tadashi watched in fascination as Hiro let out a snarl that sounded like it belonged on a real honest to God wild animal.

"Hiro." he gasped out loud, and Hiro's eyes widened, and he stopped growling. They eyed each other, and Tadashi wanted to pull him out from under the bed and hug him tight, but he had a feeling that the young boy was less keen on the idea.

"It's me." he said softly. "Tadashi."

Hiro was quiet for a couple seconds, before whispering back one word. "Tadashi?"

The husky woofed lightly, and pressed it's nose into Hiro's back. Hiro looked over his shoulder at it, then back at Tadashi.

"Yeah." Tadashi smiled warmly. He never thought he'd hear his brother's voice again, not for as long as he lived. "I'm your older brother. You probably don't remember me though."

Hiro stared at him, seeming to process these words.

"Brother?"

"Yeah. You were on a cruise with our mom and dad, when the ship went down. Everyone thought you were dead..."

As he'd spoke, Hiro had slowly started to come out from under the bed, and Tadashi backed up, so that they were face to face, the husky pressed tightly to Hiro's side.

"Do you understand?" Tadashi asked, only just realizing that it was unlikely Hiro even understood what he was saying. The boy had been three years old when he disappeared, and even though he had been way smart for his age, ten years was a long time to go without talking to anyone else.

"I...understand...a little." Hiro whispered. Aunt Cass was next to them now, and he looked at her, and shrunk back at a new introduction.

"Hiro, this is Aunt Cass. She was our mother's sister. She's been taking care of me."

Hiro bit his lip, and shook his head, and Tadashi took that to me that he didn't understand what had been said. There was a look of frustration in his eyes that the older Hamada remembered from their childhood. Hiro had hated it when he didn't understand things.

"Oh, Hiro." Cass whimpered, sticking out a shaking hand to put on his shoulder. But the second her delicate fingers made contact, he leaped back, knocking into Fred's bed, and the dog jumped forward, snarling viciously. Cass jumped back, and Tadashi jumped in front of her. Hiro grabbed the dog by the ear and tugged lightly, saying simply, "No."

The dog calmed down, and it was silent for a couple seconds. Tadashi took the time to really take in the scars on Hiro's body. One went from his leg down to his ankle, and there were numerous smaller ones scattered around his body. Tadashi shuddered at the thought of what had happened to Hiro to have those put there.

"So, un, what's his name?" Cass asked, trying to break the silence. Hiro looked at her in confusion, and she pointed at the dog, smiling.

"His name?"

Hiro seemed to get it this time, but instead of answering, he said back, "Tadashi."

Tadashi smiled.

"Yes?"

This time, Hiro smiled, though it was small, and hard to see. But Tadashi did see it, and it made his heart warm.

"And I'm...Hiro?"

Tadashi nodded, wishing more than anything that they had never been separated.

"You're Hiro."

*(*)

The car ride home was, for a lack of words, vicious. At least for Hiro. The whole time they were driving, he remained lying down in the back seat, with a blanket over his head. He was deathly silent, obviously scared. The dog fared a little better, and was at least calm.

When they got to the cafe, Cass pulled to a stop as lights erupted around them.

"Wow..." said Tadashi, as he took in the sea of reporters swarming their car. Hiro peeked out from under his blanket, but when he saw what was awaiting him, he bared his teeth and looked ready to attack.

"It's alright, Hiro. I won't let them near you." he promised. Then he remembered the last thing he had promised his little brother. That they'd see each other again, right before the ship sank, and they never did...

Until today.

This time, he wasn't going to break any promises. He got out first, and while Cass charged through the sea of reporters to unlock the cafe doors, he cracked open the car door, and gently spoke to the frightened child under the blanket.

"Hiro, don't worry. I'll protect you."

Hiro peeked out from under the blanket again, and shakily stood up, bringing the blanket with him. Tadashi let him keep it wrapped around his body, and he pulled him tightly to his side, while the dog assumed position on Hiro's other side.

The reporters shouted questions at them as they walked, most of them directed at Hiro, even though it should have occurred to some of them that he didn't understand. Tadashi was surprised by how many people had come. He didn't think any really remembered that ship. And how had they heard about Hiro anyway? Probably one of Fred's servants had said something.

Aunt Cass shouted at them to back up and give him space, and Tadashi wanted to do the same, but he remained mostly calm. Hiro, on the other hand, looked positively panicked, and when he grabbed Tadashi's arm in a tight grip, the older Hamada couldn't stand the fear he knew Hiro was feeling.

He picked the small boy up, holding him in his arms, and even though he knew Hiro probably didn't like it, Hiro wrapped his legs around his chest, and his arms around his neck, and put his head on Tadashi's shoulder, letting him carry him into the house.

Once they were safely across the threshold, Cass ran to get Hiro food, which the young boy wolfed down, while also sharing most of it with his dog.

Once he'd finished eating, Hiro let himself be talked into getting in the bathtub. Tadashi was about to explain to Hiro how to get the water running, or at least show him how, but seconds after he opened his mouth, Hiro was reaching over, and the water began to flow. Tadashi raised an eyebrow, impressed.

"Did you remember how to do that?"

Hiro shrugged, putting his hand out to touch the water. He jerked it back, and Tadashi felt it for himself. It was freezing cold. Tadashi turned the heat up, and smiled softly at the look of amazement that crossed Hiro's face when he felt the warm water on him.

"Okay, I'll be our room." Tadashi said. "Come join me when you're done, okay?"

Hiro bit his lip, something Tadashi realized meant that he hadn't understood.

"Come find me later, okay?"

Hiro nodded.

*(*)

Tadashi tried to over homework as he waited for Hiro to come back out, but he was too nervous. Or excited. Or something. Either way, there was no way he was concentrating on anything else at the moment. He tried to read, but that didn't work either.

Just as he shut the book, the door clicked shut behind him, very silently. He turned in his chair, and smiled, secretly impressed again. He hadn't heard Hiro come down the hall, or into the room, at all. He was very quiet.

"Hey. Did you like the bath?"

The young boy nodded, and Tadashi noticed that his dog was wet too.

"Did he jump in as well?" he laughed, and Hiro looked at his dog, and chuckled a little himself, awkwardly, like he hadn't done it in a while.

"Well, you must be tired. You'll get your own bed soon, but until then, you two can share mine."

Hiro blinked. "Tadashi?"

"Yeah?"

He looked at his dog. "He can share too?"

"Of course." The dog was his best friend after all. He wasn't going to kick out the dog that had probably helped Hiro to survive this whole time. Together, the three of them climbed into the bed. The dog took up position on Hiro's other side, placing the wild boy in the middle. Tadashi thought it a little cramped, but instead of being unhappy, he smiled.

"I'm so happy you're alive, Hiro." he couldn't help but say.

Hiro looked over at him.

"Mom and dad?"

Tadashi grew a little solemn, and shook his head. "They're dead."

"Dead."

"Yeah."

Hiro blinked a few times, and then turned and looked out the window, and squinted. "Not many..." he whispered, and Tadashi looked at him curiously.

"Not many what?"

"Lights."

Tadashi found this an odd thing to say. San Fransokyo was over run with lights. But then he realized, Hiro wasn't talking about those kinds of lights. He was looking up at the sky, after all.

"The stars are hard to see in the city, unfortunately."

"Stars?"

Tadashi nodded.

"They were...there were many..."

"I can imagine." Seeing that many stars didn't seem like such a bad thing, if only Hiro hadn't had to be in his position to do it.

"I...imagine?"

Tadashi laughed. "Don't worry Hiro. You were really smart when you were a kid, and I'll bet you're still really smart now. You'll pick it all up in no time."

This seemed to make him happy, and Hiro shut his eyes. He breathed so quietly that Tadashi couldn't even hear it. He shut his eyes, and was happy to snuggle into the mass of warmth that had gathered on his bed, including Mochi, who came to rest there for a few hours himself.


	4. Going Shopping

_Now keep in mind that this isn't going to go back and forth between Hiro and Tadashi's POV with each chapter. Last chapter ended on Tadashi, and this chapter is beginning with Tadashi. This story will probably be from Tadashi's POV quiet often, but I promise you'll get to see Hiro's too._

 **Chapter 4**

The next morning, Tadashi was dismayed to see that the little progress he'd thought he'd made with Hiro yesterday seemed to have been an illusion. Or, if it was real, it must have only happened because Hiro was just so scared. Because this morning, when Tadashi woke up, Hiro was hiding.

"Hiro?" he called, as he searched the house. Aunt Cass was gone, having left a note that she had to go pick up some more supplies for the bakery. She'd left them some morning donuts, which Tadashi carried with him as he searched the house, trying to entice Hiro out with it.

"Where are you?"

The nameless husky dog seemed to be missing too, and it wasn't long before Tadashi began to grow worried. What if they'd run off? Another second of thought, and this seemed unlikely. Hiro would be terrified of the outside world, and it was almost impossible that he'd run off into it.

He finally found his younger brother in Aunt Cass' room, hiding in her closet, pushing himself back into the farthest corner. His dog was wrapped around him, it's head in his lap, and when it saw Tadashi, it growled lowly. Hiro gently tugged on it's ear, and the dog grew silent.

"Hiro, what's wrong?" Tadashi asked. Hiro didn't growl at him, but he didn't come out of the corner either, shaking his head adamantly, like Tadashi had instructed him to do something. Tadashi sighed, and smiled gently, and Hiro looked up at him.

"It's alright, Hiro." He wasn't _exactly_ sure what the problem was, but he could guess. Hiro had seemed fine during the night, but once he had woken up, he'd probably gone looking around the house, possibly looked out the windows, and he must have scared himself.

"Hungry?" he asked, offering up one of the donuts. Hiro looked at it with interest, obviously not sure what it was. To show him all was safe, Tadashi took another bite of his own donut, and then held out Hiro's again. Hiro took the offering, and after a cautionary bite, ate the rest of it in about two gulps, splitting half of it with his dog.

Tadashi decided not to push his luck, and, not wanting Hiro to feel forced, he turned around and headed back into the cafe. It was going to need to be opened soon, and if Aunt Cass was away, it was his job to get it ready. As he was going down the stairs, he heard the sound of footsteps following behind him. He didn't look over his shoulder, because he had the distinct feeling that if he did, Hiro would bolt back upstairs.

He felt Hiro's eyes on him as he made sure that everything was in order. He looked over briefly. His little brother's eyes were the same. Sharp, calculating, processing.

With twenty minutes still left to go until opening, Aunt Cass came back.

"Hey boys!" she said cheerfully, and seconds later, Hiro was running up the stairs, leaving Aunt Cass to look dejected.

"Don't be hurt Aunt Cass. He's just a little jumpy right now."

She nodded silently, and tried to smile, but Tadashi saw her wipe away a tear. After giving her a comforting pat on the shoulder, he was forced to look at his watch, and accept the fact that he needed to start getting ready for school. He went back to his room, and found Hiro already there, looking through his stuff. When he noticed his older brother there, Hiro spoke.

"Smells like you." he said, and it was almost conversational, like the young boy was trying to make small talk. Awkward small talk that others would never have, but small talk all the same.

"That's not surprising. Hey!"

This last part was said with a burst of volume, and Hiro looked alarmed. Tadashi smiled brightly, and got down on his hands and knees, digging under his bed until he came up with a box. Hiro watched silently as he opened it up, and started to take things out of it.

"This was all your stuff, Hiro." he said. Hiro stared a couple more seconds, and bit his lip. Tadashi smiled, and motioned with his hand for Hiro to come closer. When he did, Tadashi patted the ground next to him. The young boy sat next to him, and Tadashi smiled when he sat the same way Tadashi was, with his legs bent under him.

"Here." he handed Hiro the first item, which was a small red shirt. It had been the only shirt the Hamada's hadn't brought along with them when they packed for Hiro. Tadashi had found it in the dirty clothes, and he never even washed it, just put it inside this box.

Hiro looked at the shirt a couple seconds, then at Tadashi.

"Mine?" he asked, seemingly now understanding what the items in the box were.

"Yeah. This was yours."

Tadashi felt his heart swell with joy as Hiro suddenly smiled, and said to him, "Never fit."

The older Hamada laughed. "Yeah, not anymore. You got bigger." He took out the next items, which were a trilogy of books, called, "The Boy Who Lived In The Stars." They had originally been Tadashi's, but Hiro had loved when Tadashi read them to him, and so, when Hiro vanished, Tadashi had sealed them away, counting them as Hiro's.

He explained some of this to Hiro, who frowned in what Tadashi knew was concentration.

"What's it..." Hiro had started a question, but he trailed off, obviously not sure what word he was looking for next. Luckily, Tadashi was smart enough to figure it out himself.

"A boy, who lived alone in the stars. One day, he gets so lonely that he builds a machine to get himself out of there, and he begins to travel the galaxy." At Hiro's confused look, Tadashi explained, "The galaxy is where the sun and the stars live."

Hiro seemed to accept this explanation, and Tadashi went on. "Anyway, the books are about the people he meets, and the adventures he has, as he tries to find his way out of the stars."

Hiro was silent for a couple seconds, looking at the books. He held them in his hands, and opened the pages, looking at the words longingly. Tadashi knew he was wishing he could understand them.

"Boy was all alone..." Hiro mumbled, and it was almost to himself. Tadashi heard though, and he felt a pang of pain clench in his heart. He imagined a small little Hiro, alone on the island, wishing everyday that he could find a way to the home he was slowly forgetting.

Hiro put the books down, and picked up the next item. It was a stuffed robot, that Hiro had carried around with him almost everyday. Tadashi had been so heartbroken when he found Maka still at home. His parents must have forgotten to pick him up as they packed their things. He imagined how sad Hiro must have been when he realized Maka hadn't come along for the trip, and he broke into sobs as he thought of Hiro sinking under the water, without even Maka to hold on to. But he had been happy that at least now, he could hold on to Maka.

Tadashi was ripped from his memory, as Hiro suddenly said, "Maka." Tadashi's head whipped around, and he looked at Hiro with wide eyes.

"T-that's right Hiro. His name is Maka. Do you remember him?"

Hiro's eyes narrowed, and he bit his lip, before he hugged the robot close, closing his eyes.

"Yes. Remember Maka."

Tears sprung to Tadashi's eyes, and he felt the overwhelming urge to hug Hiro. But he didn't want to scare him away, so instead, when Hiro handed Maka back to him, he hugged the robot.

*(*)

Tadashi called in sick from school. He had a feeling they didn't believe him when he said he wasn't feeling well. Probably because his situation was being broadcast all over the news, and so they probably knew he just wanted to stay home. Still, they didn't say anything.

Hey got an idea, around two, when he saw Hiro flipping through the books, still in his clothing.

"Hiro, do you want to go shopping?"

This time, Hiro didn't need to bite his lip for Tadashi to know he didn't understand.

"We can get you some clothes." he said, pulling on his own shirt lightly to illustrate what he was saying. "And we can go to the bookstore too, and get you some books." he added, pointing at the books.

"Outside?" he whispered. A gentle smile spread across Tadashi's face.

"Don't worry Hiro. I'll be with you."

 **Hiro's POV**

Hiro wasn't sure if it was fear or something else that was coursing through his veins as he rode on the back of Tadashi's...whatever he had called it. He clung to Tadashi as hard as he could, wishing he could have brought his friend along. His friend had looked very upset when he realized that Hiro was leaving him behind, and the young boy almost called it off.

But even though he was afraid, he was also eager to see more.

They stopped at what Tadashi called the bookstore first, and Hiro clung tightly to Tadashi's arm as the older boy lead him through the shelves, urging him to look at the books.

"You can pick whichever one you want. Or how ever many."

Hiro hadn't understood all of that, but he got the gist. He slowly moved closer to the shelves, and as such, Tadashi was forced to move closer with him. It was kind of fun. He didn't know how to read, but he was planning to learn, and these books seemed like interesting things. One in particular finally caught his eye, and he grabbed it, and showed it to Tadashi.

"Oh, this is the one about the boy who..." but Tadashi stopped himself, and only smiled.

"I think you'll like it, Hiro."

They bought the book, and then, they were on their way to what Tadashi called, "The Mall." The whole ride over, Hiro had his eyes shut tightly, and his nails dug into Tadashi's waist, probably hurting the other boy. When the ride finally came to a stop, Tadashi put a hand on his head.

"I'm sorry Hiro. I shouldn't have made you ride this thing yet. Next time, we'll walk."

Clothes shopping wasn't as fun as book shopping, and there were a lot more people than at the bookstore. It was louder too, and within only thirty minutes, Hiro couldn't take it anymore. He bolted out of the store, and Tadashi ran after him, calling his name. Hiro looked for a place to hide, but all around him there were people, and strange things he didn't know the names of. Finally, he saw one of the machines he'd ridden in yesterday, the machines that dominated the roads.

For some reason, it was sitting inside of this building, but Hiro didn't question it. He threw the door open, and climbed into the back, curling up into a ball. Within seconds, he heard the sound of Tadashi's voice. He was talking with someone else, and when Hiro peeked out the window, he saw that it was an unfamiliar man, who seemed upset, and was gesturing at Hiro angrily. Automatically, Hiro felt threatened, and this only increased when the man yanked the door open.

"Hey, don't touch him!" Tadashi shouted, as the man grabbed Hiro by the arm. Hiro snarled viciously, and the man, shocked, let go of him. By now, two large men were coming over, dressed the same, and looking angrily. When the man grabbed on to Hiro again, Tadashi grabbed the man by his arm, obviously planning to pull him off. When he did this, the two men both grabbed onto Tadashi, who even though he was strong, couldn't be stronger than these two men.

"Don't touch!" Hiro screamed, and he launched himself at the nearest man, scratching and kicking and biting. The man tried to grab onto to him, but Hiro was not easy to catch, and with only one man holding on to him, Tadashi was able to pull away. Hiro suddenly found himself in the air, as Tadashi scooped him, and, carrying him over his shoulder, ran all the way back to the parking lot. They jumped on to Tadashi's...whatever it was called, and sped away, the angry men chasing behind them.

When they reached the safety of the cafe, Hiro quickly looked over Tadashi for injuries, and Tadashi seemed to be doing the same thing. Once they'd caught their breath, and had a glass of water, Tadashi flopped down on the couch. Hiro sat next to him, and his friend followed them up. Mochi too, curled up with them. Tadashi was carrying a bag, and Hiro peeked in.

"My clothes?"

Tadashi nodded, and smiled.

"Yep."

Then, Tadashi began to laugh, and Hiro smiled, before picking up the three books Tadashi had shown him this morning.

"You want me to read them to you?"

Hiro nodded.

"Read."

The young boy curled into his brother's side, and let his warm voice wash over him.


	5. Going To School

_Sorry for the long wait, I've been trying to come up with something for this chapter. I'm terrible at middle stuff. I know how I want a story to begin, and I know how I want a story to end, but I can't just ignore the middle part, so I usually end up wasting a lot of time just trying to think of filler for the story, and at the same time, making sure it's meaningful, and not useless to the story itself._

 _By the way, I made some errors, I realize, in the first couple chapters. In the flashback, Hiro is said to be four, but I'm pretty sure that I've said after that that he was three when the boat sank. I also think I said Tadashi was a certain amount of years older than Hiro, then later went on to put him at only four years older. Just so you know, I'm going to change it so that Hiro was four when the boat sank, and Tadashi is going to be nineteen, soon to turn twenty._

 _I just want every one to know, that I'm going to go back and fix these errors when I get home from work today. I'd do it right now, but I want to get this chapter up, so I'll focus on that first and foremost._

 **Chapter 5**

Hiro was mostly calm for the next couple of hours, and Tadashi decided that Aunt Cass needn't know about their trouble in the mall. After all, it would only make her more worried. Dinner time came, and Aunt Cass was still down working in the shop, so Tadashi decided he'd do the cooking for them. He got out the materials he'd need, and got to work. Hiro watched from a few feet away, quiet, holding Maka and the books in one hand, and using the other to pet his dog.

It was as they were eating, Hiro sharing half with his dog, as always, that Aunt Cass came back upstairs, looking tired from another day of work. Tadashi saw Hiro automatically tense up at her arrival, and he hoped she hadn't noticed it herself. If she did, she didn't say anything, just picked up the extra plate Tadashi had left out for her, and took a seat at the table.

"Thanks for the dinner, Tadashi." she said, smiling at him, and from under the table, Hiro's dog barked. It must have said something funny, because Hiro smiled faintly, relaxing his posture a little. This is when Aunt Cass turned to him, and it spoke, making Tadashi aware that, yes, his Aunt had noticed the young boy tensing when she came, and had also noticed him relaxing just now.

"Did you have a fun day, Hiro?"

The black haired boy nodded quietly, and Aunt Cass smiled.

"That's good. You guys didn't have any problems?"

This reminded Tadashi of the incident at the mall, and maybe Hiro remembered too, because he looked up at Tadashi, as if asking if he was supposed to tell her about it. Tadashi smiled, and lied, "No, everything was perfect. Right, Hiro?"

Now, it was Hiro's turn to smile gently, and he nodded again. Aunt Cass looked between. She had noticed Hiro looking to Tadashi for the answer to this question, and she knew they were lying now.

"You're lying." she said, but she was smiling. "What happened? Did you destroy half the city or something?"

"No." Tadashi said convincingly, eating another spoonful of his dinner. "Everything went fine." He winked at Hiro, who didn't know what the gesture itself meant, but understood the feeling of it. He nodded again, and held out another bite of his food to his dog, name still unknown.

Their aunt didn't push them, obviously glad that they were getting along, and that Hiro was smiling, happy to keep a secret.

"Alright. But if the police come, I'm letting them haul you away."

At this, Hiro cocked his head, speaking for the first time since dinner began. "Po...lice?"

"They make sure everything is safe." Tadashi explained. "If someone hurts someone else, or does something they shouldn't, the police deal with it."

Tadashi could see the gears in Hiro's head turning as he tried to understand all these words, and the older brother waited for Hiro to bite his lip, but he didn't, finally nodding.

They stayed up for a couple more hours, and Tadashi spent most of it doing his homework. Hiro sat quietly by the window, looking out at the stars, and the city, and was quiet. Tadashi looked over at one point, lowering his book, and saw an expression of grief on his little brother's face. He wanted to ask what was wrong, but he had a pretty good idea. Hiro was missing the island. Sure, he'd been alone, and probably scared, but it was all he knew.

He knew he should ask Hiro about it, but maybe now wasn't the time, when Hiro was still so new to this world, and couldn't comprehend completely what Tadashi was even saying half the time.

At about midnight, Tadashi put his textbook down again, and said, "Come on, Hiro. Time for bed." He didn't get a reply, and when he looked over, he saw that the young boy was asleep already, leaning against the wall, his hair falling into his face. He looked young, and peaceful, and Tadashi was very careful not to wake him up as he lifted him into his arms, and moved him on to the bed.

The dog leaped up, curling in between them.

"Goodnight." Tadashi said to the dog, and it looked over at his voice, and woofed. Tadashi decided this was a sign of friendship, and he reached out tentatively. The dog let him scratch his head, and even leaned up into the contact a little.

"Thank you for watching over my brother." Tadashi whispered. He knew dogs didn't understand people, but he also got the strange feeling that this dog knew what he was saying, as it looked at Hiro's sleeping form for a couple seconds, then back at Tadashi, woofed one more time, and then nuzzled into Hiro.

The next morning, Tadashi decided to go to class. Hiro was still asleep when he made this decision, and he didn't know if he should wake him up or not. He didn't want him to be scared, when he woke up, and found that Tadashi was gone, but he also didn't want to wake him from his sleep. If only Hiro could read, he could have left him a note.

Ultimately, he woke him up, knowing that if he didn't, Hiro would be frightened, and probably nervous as he approached Aunt Cass to find out where he had gone.

"Hiro, I'm going to school today." he whispered, and the wild boy blinked up at him sluggishly.

"School?" he repeated, not familiar with the word.

"Yeah. I skipped yesterday, but I have to go today."

"Go?" Hiro obviously comprehended this word, as he sat up abruptly, a scared look on his face.

"I'll only be gone for a little bit. I'm coming back."

The fourteen year old didn't look convinced. In fact, he only looked more frightened, and he jumped off the bed, still dressed in the clothes he'd worn yesterday.

"I come with." he said, and it was almost pleading. Tadashi paused. He knew he couldn't bring Hiro into his classes with him, but maybe he could leave him in the lab, and come get him later. At least then they'd be in the same building.

"Okay. You can come."

Hiro looked so relieved that Tadashi was glad to have made this choice.

BG6

Hiro wasn't happy when Tadashi told him he'd have to wait in the lab, and that he couldn't come with him to class. No matter how many times Tadashi told him he'd be back to check on him at the end of every class, and that he'd show him a couple things when he was done with class, Hiro still frowned.

"I know you'll love Baymax." Tadashi said, boasting a little. Another reason he was excited to bring his little brother was because he really wanted to show him his invention. "Just stay here, and don't leave the room. Okay?"

Hiro didn't answer right away, and he definitely looked suspicious to Tadashi when he eventually nodded, and replied, "Okay." The way he smiled reminded Tadashi of himself, just last night, when he'd lied to Aunt Cass.

"I'm serious, Hiro. Stay here."

Hiro nodded again, but Tadashi didn't feel any more convinced. Unfortunately, he looked at the clock, and realized he only had a few more minutes until class. He looked at Hiro for another second, told him to stay one more time, and then took off running.

BH6

Hiro was not happy about being left behind in this scary room filled with weird stuff. He didn't even have his friend to keep him company. For only a few minutes, Hiro did as he had been told, and stayed, looking around at the things in the room. But he quickly became frightened. Whenever Tadashi wasn't around, Hiro just got scared.

Something about him just reassured the young boy, which was why he'd been afraid when Tadashi said he was leaving.

This place was nothing like the island. It was frightening, and the only thing that didn't frighten him was Tadashi, which was why, after only a few minutes, Hiro went running out of the room Tadashi had told him to stay in, looking around desperately.

His footsteps echoed as he ran down the empty halls, and he quickly found a hall full of doors. He didn't want to run in to any of them, knowing there had to be a lot of strangers on the other side of them. But Tadashi had to be in one of them.

He approached the first door slowly, his heart pounding. He hated this strange new environment. If only he was back on the island.

The door creaked as he pushed it open and peeked in, but nobody turned to look at him. They were too busy looking at somebody standing at the front of the room, talking. The woman talking was saying all kinds of words Hiro didn't know, and he ignored her, looking quickly through the room.

Tadashi wasn't in here, and he shut the door, moving on the next one.

The first few doors went like this, Hiro silently looking in, and not finding his brother. Each door was the same, with a person standing up at the front, talking, saying hard words, and being watched by people Tadashi's age. By the fifth door, he was starting to get scared thinking he'd never find his brother, and that Tadashi had ditched him here. This was what was going through his mind when he opened the next door, which a little too much force.

The sound of the door opening forcefully turned the attention of the room of him. A hundred faces stared at him, including that of the man standing at the front. He was an older person, and he seemed nice, as he asked, "Young man, do you need some help?"

Hiro's eyes dashed madly through the room, still trying to find Tadashi, but again, he didn't see him.

"Young man? Are you alright?" The man at the front of the room was walking up towards him now, and Hiro jumped back out of the doorway, the door slamming shut between them. He backed away, hoping the man wouldn't follow. But the door opened, and the older gentleman peeked out.

"Is something wrong?" he asked Hiro kindly. A few of the student were looking out the door at them, and one of them spoke.

"Professor Callaghan, isn't that Tadashi's brother? The one on the news?"

Hiro knew the word brother, and most importantly, he knew the word Tadashi.

"Tadashi?" he repeated softly. "Tadashi...where...?" he couldn't manage to ask anymore, not know that all the students were gathering around to look at him.

The man, Professor Callaghan, stared at Hiro observantly, and nodded. "I think you may be right. Are you looking for Tadashi?"

"Tadashi." Hiro said again.

"Oh well, I'm not sure what class he's in now." the man said, sounding a little worried. He looked back at his students. "Does anyone know what class Mr. Hamada is in right now."

"Class? Tadashi...where?"

"He speaks funny." one of the students said, and as more and more of them got closer, Hiro only grew more and more paniced. Yes these people knew Tadashi, but they weren't Tadashi, and if they didn't know where he was, he didn't need them. He turned and took off running down the hall, and only panicked more when the man shouted after him, and chased after him. Hiro knew the kids in the room where coming with, he could hear the sound of their footsteps.

Beyond scared now, he ran as fast as he could, and started screaming. "Tadashi! Tadashi! Tadashi!" It was nonstop, and loud, and it drew the attention of more people. They came pouring out of classrooms, and the number of people following him only grew worse.

Hiro turned down a hall, and to his horror, it was a dead end. He turned, and his eyes grew wide at the number of people behind him, all talking excitedly. Professor Callaghan was trying to get them to back away, but there were too many of them to control.

Hiro felt tears spring to his eyes, but he knew he had to be strong. He got into an attack stance, causing half the students to back up, and the other half to laugh.

That was when he heard a voice he knew break through the crowd.

"Let me through, let me through!" the voice shouted. It was Tadashi, pushing his way through the crowd. "Hiro! Hiro, hold on!"

"Tadashi!" Hiro screamed, his heart swelling with relief. His older brother came into view, looking disheveled and scared, and Hiro launched himself at him. Tadashi held him tightly, and spoke softly as Hiro trembled and cried softly.

"It's okay, Hiro." he said, and Hiro only trembled worse.

* * *

Dang, the chapter is supposed to be longer, but I gotta get to work. I'll probably be late, at this rate. I'll include what I wanted too in the next chapter.

Hope you liked it!


	6. Meeting Baymax

**Sorry for the very long wait. I am an easily depressed person, and for some reason, I've been depressed. My writing has suffered because of it. I guess I know the reason I've been depressed. One day I just sat down and decided my writing sucked, and thereafter, every time I tried to write, I only ended up sad. I'm trying to get past it right now. It's hard.**

 **Sorry in advance if my Baymax speak sounds kind of dumb. I'm not big on doctor/nurse/medical terms, and too lazy to look up the correct things.**

 **Chapter 6**

 _Tadashi POV_

Tadashi quickly took Hiro out of the hallway, and back to the lab, where the young boy hid under a desk, and wrapped his arms around his knees. Tadashi tried to coax him out, but he wouldn't be swayed for a matter of minutes. It was only when Tadashi apologized that Hiro looked up.

"Sorry? Why sorry?"

Tadashi sighed. "I shouldn't have brought you here. I should have known it would be too much for you too handle." It had been dumb for him to think this would ever go over smoothly. Hiro had spent his whole life on that island, and Tadashi himself had seen that Hiro wasn't comfortable with the outside world, so why had he thought this would work? He should have just told Aunt Cass to tell Hiro he had left, after he woke up. Then Hiro wouldn't have been as paniced.

Hiro thought this over, and frowned. "I sorry. I wanted to come, but didn't listen to what you tell me. My fault."

But Tadashi shook his head, his hair falling into his face a little. He'd need to cut it soon. And maybe Hiro would let him cut his hair too. It stuck up everywhere, no matter how much Tadashi brushed it.

"It's not your fault Hiro. I should have known you wouldn't want to sit quietly in a lab all day." The young boy was still curious and adventures, as he always had been. Tadashi should have remembered that, and taken it into account.

This time, Hiro smiled, though it was small. "You're right. Your fault."

"Hey!" Tadashi exclaimed, smiling brightly. He started to crawl under the desk towards Hiro. "My fault now, huh? We'll see about that!"

Hiro, seemingly understanding this was only a game, and that Tadashi was in no way meaning to be threatening, laughed as Tadashi grabbed him by the ankle and dragged him out from under the desk. They began to wrestle, and not to Tadashi's surprise, they were pretty evenly matched. Hiro was young and skinny, but he was also strong, after years of on the island. Tadashi finally gained a bit of an edge, but this might have only been Hiro tiring after his run through the school.

They were interrupted by voices, and Hiro, picking up on them first, was under the desk again before Tadashi knew what was happening. Seconds later, his friends came in, expressing concern for Hiro.

"He's alright." Tadashi said. His friends were trying not look like they were looking for his younger brother, and Tadashi smiled.

"Where did he go?" Fred asked, and there was the sound of movement, and a second later, Hiro's head popped out from under the desk, his hair even more wild then when he'd gone under, somehow.

"Master Fred?" he said, and he smiled.

"Hey, there you are!" Fred said happily, coming over. "What are you doing hiding under the desk?"

By way of answer, Hiro looked at Tadashi's remaining friends. Fred looked at them too, and grinned. "You don't have to be scared of them, Hiro. They're harmless!"

"Why does he call you Master Fred?" Honey Lemon asked, coming a few feet closer. Tadashi saw Hiro's eyes scan her, and apparently determining her not a threat, he allowed her to, though he didn't come out from under the desk.

"He thinks it's my name is all, since that's what he heard Heathcliff call me at the house."

Hiro looked at Tadashi, impressing his older brother once more with how well he had managed to follow the conversation. "Name not Master Fred?"

Tadashi shook his head. "Just Fred."

"Just Fred?" Hiro repeated, and Tadashi nodded. Thinking he had understood, Tadashi couldn't not burst out laughing when the younger boy turned to Fred and said, "Glad you're here, Just Fred." The others burst out laughing too, and Hiro's face turned red, and a second later, he was back under the desk, and they could hear him muttering angrily to himself.

"Hey, I'm sorry, Hiro." said Tadashi, getting on his knees and looking under the wooden desk. "It was funny."

"Funny?"

"And cute!" Honey Lemon cut in, and Hiro's face scrunched up.

"Cute?" Clearly Hiro hadn't learned that word yet.

"Yeah. Very cute."

They couldn't see it from their spot, but Tadashi saw pretty clearly the blush that was spreading across Hiro's face. Maybe he'd already managed to work out what cute meant.

"His name is Fred." Wasabi said now, smiling kindly under the desk. At some point, the much larger man had made his way over and sat on the floor. "They call me Wasabi. That girl there is Honey Lemon, and that's Gogo." He gave formal introductions, pointing at each of them as he said their names. "We've known Tadashi for a long time."

Hiro was completely still through this whole exchance, and Tadashi saw the way he eyed Wasabi. Anyone who knew the guy knew that he'd never harm anyone, or anything, at least not intentionally. Heck, he was the most cautious of them all. But Hiro didn't know any of that, and all he saw was a very large man blocking his only exit. He growled lowly, and Tadashi was afraid of what he might do, but the young boy stayed put, apparently figuring he was outmatched. Wasabi, though he must have heard the growl, didn't say anything, and only smiled.

"You don't have to be afraid of Wasabi, Hiro." Tadashi told him. "The one you should be scared of is Gogo."

"Hey. Don't go spreading lies." Gogo said, though with a smile. Hiro's eyes were on her now, but he didn't seem to find her as frightening. Very slowly, moving with the caution of a timid animal, Hiro made his way out from under the desk, though placed himself behind Tadashi.

"Okay, now that you've met all my human friends, it's time for you to meet someone else!"

 ** _Hiro_ _POV_**

Tadashi's friends cheered, apparently knowing where this was going. Tadashi looked over his shoulder and smiled, and Hiro tried not to be scared. But he felt so trapped. This room was filled with things he didn't know, and even though Tadashi didn't seem scared of his friends, and even though that probably meant they weren't so bad, Hiro couldn't help but be afraid anyway.

Leading him with a gentle hand on his shoulder, Tadashi moved Hiro over to a different corner of the room. Sitting on the ground in front of them was a red container, which they all gathered around. The tall blonde girl was standing too close, and Hiro quickly moved spots, so that Tadashi was between them again.

To Hiro's confusion, his brother then said, "Ow!" The young boy looked around, thinking something must have attacked his brother, but he didn't see anything that could be thought of as an attacker.

That changed a second later though, when suddenly, the red box in front of him opened, and from it, a tall, white... _thing_ appeared. His eyes widened in awe, because he'd never seen such a thing.

"What...what is it?"

"Hello. I am Baymax, your personal health care companion. I heard signs of distress. I will now perform a full body scan."

A bright light came from Baymax, and Hiro watched, entranced, as it moved across each of them, until he came to Hiro. After the blue light had scanned him, the big white thing spoke again.

"You have various lacerations across your body. To make sure they don't get infected, I will now treat them." Then, the thing, which called itself Baymax, took a step closer, coming towards Hiro. Hiro leaped back, growling, and to his surprise, the white thing stopped, and cocked it's head, as if confused.

"You're heart rate is up. Are you anxious?"

"He's alright, Baymax." Tadashi said, turning Baymax's attention to him. "I just wanted to show you off to my brother, Hiro. Hiro, this is Baymax, my invention. He's like a nurse, and he can do tons of things. He's going to help out a lot of people."

"Hello, I am Baymax." Baymax said again, though this time he was speaking to exclusively Hiro. Hiro blinked, and moved closer, touching Baymax softly. It was like a giant pillow.

"Hiro." he said by way of introduction. After a couple more minutes, in which Tadashi took obvious pride in Baymax's abilities, which he showed by hurting his own friends to various degress, Baymax went back to sleep. When he was gone, Hiro smiled.

"Very cool."

It was the most modern thing he'd said yet, and he took some pride in it. Bit by bit, he was learning.

BH6

 **Tadashi's POV**

When they got home, Hiro's dog almost knocked him over, jumping on him and whining. His brother hugged it tightly, speaking softly to it. Tadashi couldn't hear what he was saying, but whatever it was calmed the big dog down. Aunt Cass was too busy talking with some customers to really greet them, though she did smile and wave. Hiro, to Tadashi's delight, smiled and waved back, before disappearing up the stairs with his dog.

Tadashi gave Cass a much needed hand with running the cafe, listening as every now and again something heavy fell onto the floor above him. He figured Hiro was running around, or maybe his dog. Either way, they sounded like they were having fun, so it was no trouble, though the customers kept glancing above their heads in confusion.

After Tadashi had been working for an hour or so, he saw Hiro standing on the stairs, watching him from behind the wall. He smiled, and Hiro smiled back. Tadashi was sure this meant progress. Hiro was standing in view of the whole shop almost. It was a big step.

Once Aunt Cass relieved him, he went back to him room, with Hiro following behind him. They both fell onto the bed, and Hiro shut his eyes. His big dog was laying on the bed too, it's head on Hiro's stomach. It suddenly whined, and Hiro opened his eyes, looking at the dog, and scratching his ear.

"Is he alright?" Tadashi asked, and Hiro nodded.

"He misses our home."

He said it sadly, and once more Tadashi felt bad. He was glad to have his little brother back, but he still felt bad that Hiro had been ripped from the only home he'd known.

"Tell me about the island Hiro." he said, and Hiro was quiet for a couple seconds.

"Tell you about island, if Tadashi tell me about parents."

Tadashi smiled, and now shut his eyes. "Well, alright. But be warned, I don't remember much either. I was still young when they died."

"Tell me."

"They were kind Hiro. They loved us both very much. Dad had a sense of humor, and mom put up with it." It surprised Tadashi how much he remembered about them. "I have some pictures around here somewhere. I'll show them to you."

Before Hiro could answer, Tadashi got up, and went to his desk, moving things around until he came up with a picture. He liked to keep it nearbye, but out of sight. It had always hurt him to look at. He handed it to Hiro, who gazed at it like he was trying to memorize it.

In the picture, their father had his arm around a young Tadashi's shouder. Their mother was hugging leaning on their father's otherside. A small Hiro, only months before his presumed death, was being held in Tadashi's arms, smiling brightly at the camera.

"That's...me?" whispered Hiro, pointing at the smaller Hiro, captured forever in happiness. Tadashi nodded. Hiro looked at the picture silently for a couple more seconds, then spoke.

"The island was big. And scary. But I loved it very much...It was beautiful..."

Tadashi smiled. "I bet it was."

"I had a den, that we slept in, and a warm spring that I bathed in."

Hiro shut his eyes again, and Tadashi thought he saw a few tears leak out of his eyes, falling onto the picture he still held tightly in his hands. "I...miss it very much." And when his tears fell faster, and his sobs grew louder, Tadashi drew him into his side, hugging him as tightly as he'd never been allowed before.

BG6

 _"Mommy? Daddy?"_

 _It was loud. And scary. So much screaming._

 _Hiro couldn't see him mommy and daddy, and he started to cry. He was frightened._

 _He wanted Tadashi. Where was Tadashi?_

 _"Tadashi!"_

 _Suddenly, gentle hands that he knew picked him up, and carried him quickly away._

 _He cried loudly as he looked up into his mother's eyes._

Hiro woke up, breathing heavily. Next to him, his brother and friend were deep asleep. He looked at them, trying to stop shaking. He hadn't had that dream in a long time. Only now did he realize it might have not been a dream at all.

Maybe it was a memory.

He curled up tightly into his brother's side, holding on to the memory of her eyes.


	7. Making A Friend

_I know I took a super long time to update. I'm really sorry. Things are tough for me right now. I'm trying to lose myself in my writing, but sometimes, it feels like my writing is some of the problem. I have to get better, but I'm just never happy._

 **Chapter 7**

 _Hiro POV_

Hiro restlessly paced from one side of the room to another, dodging any displaced items that he or Tadashi, (mostly he -from trying to learn) had left down. His scarred feet not slowing their pace for longer than a split second. Tadashi had left him at home today, and without him, the young boy could not force himself to stand still. Aunt Cass was downstairs, but he couldn't convince himself to go down to her. He was not yet comfortable being alone with her. Her eyes smiled kindly, stirring something long forgotten inside him. Looking at her smile, he always saw another woman...his arms ached to wrap around her, but still…

He was just too scared. Outside, in the world beyond, Hiro's ears picked up on loud sounds that blared all around, and one was so drawn out and long that Hiro moved away from the window. His palms were sweaty, and his stomach was clenching in a way it would do on the island whenever he sensed or saw danger. Danger was everywhere here, in every nook and cranny, and his nerves were frayed from the constant feel of it.

There was a loud thump from downstairs, that Hiro now recognized as meaning that Aunt Cass had dropped something. His friend ran off downstairs, ears up, and tail wagging, eager to see what had been dropped. His friend liked this place, Hiro knew. And so did Hiro, he really, honestly did. Tadashi was here, and so was Aunt Cass, who he liked, even if he was still a little cautious. And food was easy, and he didn't have to fight other creatures for it, or kill. His sleeping spot, which Tadashi called a bed, was very soft and warm, and their shelter looked like it would hold through all the seasons to come. His life wasn't really in constant peril, even though he could feel danger everywhere.

Following his friend slowly, Hiro's thoughts were full of his brother. Tadashi never felt like danger, even though he was much bigger than Hiro. Not since the moment Hiro had seen him. Well, a split second, upon first seeing him, maybe. But then he had smiled, and spoken and said his name.

And everything had changed, in ways that his family didn't even know.

The older boy only felt like a warm day shining down on you, warming your bones.

So Hiro was very glad he had come with Master-

Oh right, just Fred.

Hiro was very glad he had come with Fred here.

But…

He did miss the island. He missed running freely across the ground, his friend keeping pace beside him, even as the years went on. And the warm spring where he washed. They had a warm spring here too, called a bath, but it was much more confined, and Hiro didn't have nearly as much room to stretch out and relax in it. And there wasn't close to enough room for his friend to join him, though they did try often, which usually led to unhappy looks from Aunt Cass, who now that he thought about it, might just be called "Cass." Maybe "Aunt" was a word only they said, like how only Heathcliff called Fred "Master."

Hiro rolled his eyes, subconsciously knowing the movement went with what he was thinking. Which was, _"humans are so much more complicated."_

And the sky here wasn't as beautiful, because Hiro couldn't see all the lights in the sky at night, stretching on for longer than Hiro could imagine. There were other lights here, and they moved across the sky, blinking. Hiro knew those were what were called Planes and Helicopters. He'd flown in one when coming with Fred. Tadashi said that planes were usually carrying lots of people, not just two or three, and that they used them to travel all across the world. Some had passed over the island, always too high for Hiro to really begin to understand. And when they were low, he'd always run, hiding until it was long gone. He hadn't known then that they might have taken him back to his brother.

"Hiro? Are you hungry?"

He'd appeared in the cafe, and was now standing at the foot of the stairs, looking blankly ahead as his thoughts consumed him. He hadn't realized it until then, but now that she'd asked, his stomach growled, and she smiled.

"I'll whip something up for you nice and quick!"

He nodded, then looked around for his friend. He spotted him, going from table to table, sniffing at people and wagging his tail until they gave him food. One boy, with hair the color of the sea, didn't seem to notice him, but his friend didn't give up, putting his head on the chair the boy was sitting on. When this still didn't work, his friend let out a low bark. It was only then that the boy seemed to react, looking down, and pulling something white out of his ears. He stared down at Hiro's friend for a second, before looking around the room, his blue eyes settling on Hiro.

"Is this your dog?" he asked. Hiro understood most of it, then tried to judge how the boy might feel. He didn't sound angry.

"Yes. It...is. I'm sorry if he…" it took Hiro long enough to remember the next word that by the time he did, the boy he was speaking too was looking a little confused. "Bothered you."

"No, it's alright. I like dogs." the boy picked a piece of his food off of his plate, and fed it to Hiro's friend. "He's a husky, right?"

"A...husky?" Hiro turned the word over in his head, but was coming up with little in the form of results.

"Yeah. Isn't that his breed?"

"B-bleed?" Hiro's eyes swept his friend for signs of injury, but there were none.

The boy was looking very confused now, and he shook his head. "Breed. Breed of dog. Husky is one of them. You know, the way not all humans are one color, neither are dogs. That sort of thing."

That had been way too many words to follow, so Hiro bit his lip, wishing Tadashi was there. Luckily, the next best thing appeared at the boy's table, smiling in a friendly manner.

"Sorry, Christian, but Hiro doesn't understand English very well yet." Aunt Cass said, and the boy looked back at him, suddenly looking much more interested. "Wait, you're Hiro Hamada? The boy who went missing for like, ten years?"

Hiro nodded, not knowing most of those last words, but understand his name, and at the same time, Aunt Cass said, "Yep, that's him."

The boy, who Aunt Cass had called Christian, whistled a long, drawn out noise of amazement. "Well then, you actually speak English surprisingly well, for someone whose been here...what, a week? How have you picked it up that fast?"

"Tadashi taught me."

"Still, to be able to speak it this well, you must be some kind of genius!"

Genius? Hiro had been watching a movie earlier, trying his hardest to follow along, and it had kept saying something called a Geenie, or something like that. From what Hiro had managed to put together, the Geenie could grant wishes. Was this the same thing? Did Christian think Hiro could grant wishes?

"Geen...i...us?"

"Actually, he is." Aunt Cass said, beaming proudly. "When he was a child, he was so smart for his age. Why, he had the whole alphabet memorized by the time he was three, and was already learning to read! Not only that, but sometimes, when he would be in the cafe with me, he'd beat the register in telling people their change!"

Now Hiro was really confused. Geenie and Geenius were clearly not the same thing. Geenius seemed to mean that he had been capable of great stuff, if Aunt Cass' pride was anything to go by. Had he been really smart, before he'd ended up on his island? And if he was then, was he still now?

Christian listened to this, his mouth dropping open. Once Aunt Cass was finished, he turned back to Hiro. "Wow! Are you planning on going back to school?"

School. That was where Tadashi was at right now. Was he able to go back?

"Tadashi?" he asked, not sure if his question was clear. But Aunt Cass seemed to understand, and she shook her head.

"There are way more schools than just Tadashi's, Hiro, honey. Hundreds just in this city. Thousands and thousand all over the world. You have to be older to get into Tadashi's school."

"Oh." Older meant bigger, because everyone he'd met so far that was older was bigger. So he just had to get bigger, right?

"So, what's your dog's name?" Christian asked, putting a hand on his friend's head and scratching behind his ears. His friend wagged his tail and leaned into the contact. Hiro watched, silent for a couple seconds before he spoke again.

"Tadashi."

"Tadashi's at school, but he'll be back soon." Cass said with a smile.

"Well, I have to get going, but you're welcome to join me Hiro."

Cass stiffened, and Hiro did too. A boy his age was inviting him out, and that was good, it meant he was normal enough for normal people to want to hang out. But there was no way he was up for it. But he also really wanted to see this world more.

"I...want to...but..." Hiro looked at Aunt Cass, who was watching closely. When Hiro turned to her, she smiled brightly, and nodded enthusiastically. "I think it would be great for you to go out Hiro, and with a friend too. But please don't go too far."

"No problem. We'll just go a few blocks." Christian said. He looked at Hiro, who was still looking back.

"You wanna?"

Hiro took another pause. "My friend...can come?"

"Your dog? Of course."

Christian started walking out of the shop, and, after checking that his friend was with him, Hiro followed.


End file.
